The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, January 11, 1887, Image 2
The temperance peoplo will be glad to
learn that M. Chevruel, the great French
savant and centenarian, has never tasted
a drop of wine, lie dislikes the smell of
it, and, strange to say, he has the samo
"infirmity," as ho culls it, in regard to
fish, although he is one of the greatest
fisherman in France.
Country people can make their own
barometers if they have no other use for
their wells. In the Swiss villago of Meyringen
some disused wells have been hermetically
scaled to serve as barometers.
On a fall of atmospheric pressure air escapes
through a small hole in the well j
cover, blowing a whistle and thus giv
ing warning of a coming storm; but j
when the outside pressure is increasing, j
the air, being forced into the well, causcs '
a different sound, and announces the
probability of fine weather.
Tricycles in England are being used
for many purposes. Traders use it for
delivery of small packages, and po&tmen
depend on it in country districts. In
Germany military genius is turning it to
nccouut for the battle field. But as an
auxiliary for the fire brigade in Englaud
its application is perhaps most ingenious
The one in question contains a hose-reel;
a light, double pump firo engino capable
of throwing twenty-five gallons a minute;
a collapsible cistern to hold water,
and a tdmplc fire escape with descending
ropes and bag. Two men can run it at
full speed.
Some of the members of the Tennessee
Legislature are chosen after a novel fash- 1
ion. There aro in the State what aro '
known'as "flotorial districts." Thecoun- !
ties of the State are entitled to represen- :
tation according to tionulation. Tho !
^ * I fraction
above the necessary number en*
titling a county to representation is not
thrown away, but several counties ad- |
joining combine these fractional rem- j
nants until the unit of representation is
reached. These counties compose a "flotorial
district," and besides being represented
by tlicir own county membership, '
the counties jointly elect the extra member,
who is known as a "floater."
In spite of all life-saving appliances
there is still death in the mine to a
frightful extent. Civilization gets its
supply of coal and iron at a costly expense
of human life. Statistics just pub- j
lished in England show that during tho
year 1885 the total nun bor of fatal ac- j
cidents was 8G0, and the total number ,
of deaths occasioned thereby 1,214, I
showing a decrease compared with the
preceding year of 51 in the number of
fatal accidents aftd an increase of 21G
in the number of l.ves lost. On an average
during the year there was one fatal
accident to every 048 persons employed.
The average for the ten years
1874 to 1S83, is one fatal accident to
every 504 persons employed, and one
death by accident to every 458 persons
employed. The proportion of fatal accidents
to the number of persons employed
is therefore lower than the nv
erageof the last ten years and the death
rate is also lower, which, of course, is
gratifying as far as it goes.
The towns along the great lakes are
proud of their shipping trade, although a
bather along their coast may swallow a
mouthful of water without nausea. The
Cleveland Leader says that the commerce
on Lake Superior can be judged j
from the fact that "up to the present
*1.?u:_ ? -i n- -" " "
muig (rue duijj uuimi Ub DUllll OIC. DIAHB j
has been used this season by an aggregate
of more than 3,000,000 tons of j
shipping, and it is probable that the
total will reach 4,000,000 tons by the
close of navigation. The magnitude of
these figures can hardly bo appreciated
at first sight. Four million tons of ship-;
ping means 2,000 of the largest vessels
on the lakes, or 1,000 first-class ocean
steamships, an average of fifteen of tho
former, or nearly^ eight of the latter each
day for s x months." How much
of this coasting trade is along the Canadian
shore and carried in Canadian vessels
is not stated, but the larger share
probably belongs to the United States,
and shows that we have considerable
commerce, even if wo don't count for
much in the foreign corrying trade.
Russia is peculiarlv rich in Hiimri#in<?
- ? 1 "O
fleets and associations, but the most astounding
is one lately brought to light
bearing the ominous title of "The Red
Death." Its members affect to believe
that he who consciously permits anothci
to 6uffer prolonged pain commits a mortal
sin. In order to abbreviate the sufferings
of humanity it is a matter of conscience
with them to kill the sick, thai
they may be put out of their pain quickly.
The association takes its name from
the fact that its executioners, dressed in
red for the occasion, strangle their victims
with a red cord, placing them for
the purpose upon a red catafalque, beneath
the dull reddish light of an oilamp.
This strange and horrible association
was brought to light by the energetic
opposition interposed by a man in
Saratoi when his mother and sister at
Mtmpteu fco strangle nis 81CK wife. lie
called in the authorities, who have already
arrested somo forty members of the
murderous scot. Their organization
seems to be a transference from India to
Muscovite soil of the worship of Boh*
trance, the religion of the Thusrs.
When Mr. Spianer was United States
Treasurer he used to honor lomo of the
prettiest young lady clerks in his office
by having their features givon to some
of the goddesses that grace our currency.
But tho head of Martha Washington,
which adorns the new $1 certificate, and
im idealized head of Dolly Madison aro
the only accredited portraits of distinguished
women boing used in this way on
the new silver certificates.
The native community throughout
Bengal, India, has been greatly excited by
the discovery that extensive adulteration
is curried on in the manufacture of ghoe,
' or clarified butter, an article in daily
j.uso in evory native household. Tho in!
tcus<ty of the popular feeling on the sabI
ject is accounted for by the fact that tho
adulteration is effected either with beef
and mutton fat, tho eating of which is a
deadly sin in tho eyes of the Hindus, or
with lard, which tho Mohammedans consider
unclean food. Both Hindus and
Mohammedans have called on the government
to protect them toy legislation,
and have urged the necessity for immediate
action, so that the measurart might
come into force before tho Doorga Pooja
and Mohurrnm, the great festivals of the
two religions.
One of the most remarkable human cu!
riositics ever seen has just been examined
by M. de Quatrefages, the French
naturalist. lie is a Provincial named
Simeon Aignier, and is thirty years old.
Aignicr, thanks to his peculiar system of
muscles and nerves, can transform himself
in most wondrous fashion. At ono
I
moment, assuming the rigidity of a
statue, his body may be struck sharply,
the blows falling as on a block of atone.
At another he moves his intestines from
above and below and right and left into
the form of a large football, and projects
it forward, which gives him the appearance
of a colossally stout personage. lie
then withdraws it into the thorax opening
like a cage, and the hollow look of
his body immediately reminds one of a
, skeleton. Aignier successfully imitates
| a man subjected to* the tortures of the
rack, as also a man hanging himself, and
assumes a strikingly cadaverous look.
I What most astonished M. de Quatrcfagcs
I was thu stoppage of the circulation of
the blood, now on the left and now on
the right side, which was effected by
! muscular contraction.
[
j Mr?. White's Snake Skin.
Mrs. John White, living a few miles from
j this village, has a mounted rattlesnake
! skin, four feet and a half long, with an
imperfect set of rattles in the tail, which
she is proud to show to visitors, while
! relating how the snake, when alive,chased
! her, although involuntarily, for nearly
! half a mile, and kept up the chase even
' after it was dead. Mrs. "White waa
, standing by the roadside one warm day,
j when she heard a rattlesnake sound its
| "bells" immediately behind her, and at
the same time felt a tug at the skirt of
i her dress. She looked around quickly
and saw that a big rattlesnake had struck
at her, and that its fangs were fast in the
bottom of her dress. Mrs. White started
on a run for home. The snake's fangs
were so securely fastened in the dress
that the suake was carried along. Mrs;
White ran so fast that tho rattlesnake
; was whipped and snapped about like the
tail of a kite.
j The house wiw almost half a mile away,
ond wKuti Afro "XXTUil-rt ?AAA^nr1 ^^
mux* ifMwu duo. Ti uiio iuatxiuu 11UI uuur
' she wus so much overcome by the run
and her friglit that she fainted on the
doorstep. Her daughter ran out. When
she saw the snake, with its fangs fast in
her mother's dress, and her mother lying
pale on the step, she supposed the
snake had bitten her mother and killed
her, and the girl ran screaming to a
' neighbor's, half a mile further on, whera
1 she alarmed the household with the news
that her mother had been killed by a
rattlesnake. A1 man ran back to White'sMrs.
Whits had revived sufficiently to
j drag herself into the house. The snake
j wa3 dead, and still fast in the dress. The
j threshing on the stones and against the
! ground had beaten the life out of it and
i broken off the lower part of its rattles.
Beven were left, from the size and gradation
of which it was calculated that the
perfcct set contained at least thirteen.
, The snake was skinned and mounted,and
has ever since been an object of great
curiosity in tho community. The shock
( to Mrs. White prostrated her for several
days.?Neio York Sun.
Conrt Was Adj turned.
"Order in the court!" exclaimed tho
judge of a Montana Circuit, as lie observed
the occupants of the room leave
j their seats and crowd around the windows.
"We must have order," ho continued.
"Mr. Sheriff, sec that order is maintained.
There must be less confusion 01
I will order tho room cleared."
"The vflller onn is rrpttfni* owon >?uv.
( ? e -....J ?? <
the other," remarked one of the men at
the window.
"What's the excitement?" asked the
judge.
"A.dog fight, jour honor," replied
a lawyer, aa he got up on a chair to look
ont of thi window.
"Mr. Sheriff," said tho Court, as ho
moved down from his seat in the direc<
tion of the crowd, "adjourn court ricrhf
| off."?/W OloU
A Son? of Itost. i
O weary Hands! that, all thoday,
' Were set to labor hard and long;
Novr softly fall tho shadows gray,
Tbs bells are rung for even souj. j
Aa hoar ago tho guidon sun
Bank slowly down into tho wes^;
Poor, weary Ilauris, your toil is dono,
Tia time for rest!?'tis tiino for rOolJ
O weary Fectl that many a mile
Have trudgod along a w? ary way. i
At last ye reach the try ting stile;
W? 1 r -
luu^oi ivir v) go astray.
rho gently bending, rustling trco3
Rock the young birds >\ithin the ne3%
And softly sings the quiet brwz :
" 'Tls time for rest!?'tis timo for rcstfl
O weary Eyes! from which the tears
Fell inany a t mo like thunder rain;
0 weary Heart! that through the years
Bent with such bittei4, restless pain,
To-night forgot the stormy strife,
And know what heaven shall send is best;
Lay down tho tangled web of life,
'Tis timo for rest!?'tis timo for rest!
?Florence Tylee. i
The Widow's Pumpkins.
it was a brilliant October morning,
the grass all spark ing with hoar frost,
the trees waviug th<'ir red-jeweled arms
to the sunshine, and Eiiakim Ellis was
driving serenely down Hay Ilill.
"I ain't a poet," thought he. "but if
I was, I could write a lot of rhymes
about like this. Why, it's poetry all
the way through. And?eh??how?what?
Who's that?"
It was the Widow Ilepsy IIull, standing
at the door of her little one-storied
house, and beckoning with her long,
lean arms toward him. The farmer
drew his rem.
"Hold on Sorrel I" he apostrophized
his steed. ''You ain't never in a hurry,
when I want you to be, so I calcerlate
you can stand still a bit now. Wul, Mis'
Hall, what can I dew for ye this morning?"
I've got some pumpkins that I want to
sell," said the Widow Ilepsy. "Drefful .
likely ones^"
"Pumpkins?" echoed Eliakim. "Why,
bless you soul, Mis' Hall, pumpkins is a
dreg in the market, just now. The <
pumpkin crop has turned out powerful
good, thank Providence, and our folks
is feedin' 'em to the caows."
Ashadow of dire disappointment crept
over the old woman's face, as she stood
there, unconsciously picturesque, against
the curly hop-teudrils and crimson woodbine
leaves that garlanded the doorway.
The tears came into her dim eyes.
"Then I may us well give it up," said
she, in accents of dispair. "For I hain't
nothiu' else to sell; and Belindy had set
such store on my comin' down this
autumn afore cold weather set in."
"Eh!" caid Mr. Ellis; good-naturedly.
"You was a-goin* down down to Belindy's,
eh?"
' I can't without no money," said the
Widow Ilepsy Hall. "And I was sort i
o' calculatin' on them pumpkins. Thu 1
corn hain't amounted to nothin', and i
the weasels has tuk all the poultry, and
ihn dHofl linffiAi.
uwllbS UIIIUCWCU IUUI Itut UOg
days weather, and the* carpet-weaven' J
business is awful dull; so what be I to 1
do?"
1'Can't ye put off your visit?" said '
Eliakim, thoughtfully flicking the top
off a cluster of saucy ox-eyed daisies,
that grew close to his wagon wheels.
"Belindy's little boy's got the croup,w
said Mrs. Hall, lugubriously. "And her 1
husband has fell off a scaffold and broke 1
his leg. And if ever I'm wanted there, '
it's now." *
"I swan 1" ejaculated honest Eliakim, ^
as he realized what the double meaning 1
of poverty and misfortune was. "Fetch
me them pumpkins; I'll buy 'em any- 1
how."
"I'll let you have the lot for a dollar," 1
said the Widow Ilepsy, wistfully. 1
"They're jest out in the corner lot."
"Ain't gcthered, eh?" <
"Bless me! who've I got together'em?" 1
reproachfully retorted Mrs. Hall?"and '
Dot a soul about the place, and me with
that crick in my back." 1
Eliakim Ellis' heart smote him. Who
was he, to complain of a little extra *
trouble, when the Widow Ilepsy was so
much worse off than himself?
So he alighted, and led Sorrel laboriously
down the stony cart track toward
the corn field, where, amid the harvested 1
shocks, gleamed the ruddy gold of pump- ^
Kins innumerable. i
* + I
"Pumpkins!" screamed Mrs. Elli?, 1
when her husband drove into the dooryard
at noon. 4'Pumpkins 1 Why, Elia- 1
kirn Ellis, what on earth are you bring- 1
ing pumpkins hero for? Ain't we got the i
i bnrn-chnmbcrs full, and the lots full, and
the very cattle won't eat 'einf Be you i
i clean gone eruzy?" Mrs.
Ellis was a high-cheek-boned ]
female, with projecting front teeth, and
hard, greenish eyes, like badly colored
, marbles. She was one of those who
> worship gain as the lire- worshippers far i
down before the sun. 4,Money is
money 1" was her favorite axiom. And 1
, Eliakim felt his heart sink within him <
as he faccd her stern, uncompromising i
gnz>. (
j "They're jest a few?" he began. ,
I i A fowl** .V. 1 I _ * 1-1 I
? ?vn I BUI 111 J Vt'UUCU Ilia W1I6. I
"The waggin is heaped full! And we
a-throwin* of 'em away every dayl ]
That's jest a man's calculatin' 1" J
"Jest a few," said Elinkim, hitching 1
desperately on the first section of his
poech, "thatl're brung down hereto (
h- ...,;; \
sell for Mrs. Hall. There ain't much
market up that-a-way, you know,
Loisy.
"And," he added to himself, "goodness
knows how glad I'd bo to soli 'era
if I had the chance! I ain't lyin', nohow
!" ,
Miss Ellis gave a prodigious sniff.
"Don't you fetch that there truck
inside of tho door-yard, 'Liakiml" 6aid
she. "Jest dump 'em on the roadsid<
and let the neighbors' hogs cat 'em up
nn miirlf no flinn non I"
V,..~ .
But Mr. Ellis took advantage of a tin-1
peddler coming along on the other sid<|
of the street, and engaging his help- ;
meet's attention, to smuggle in the load
of pumpkins,
4'I won't waste 'cm anyway," said he.
"If anybody's hogs is to eat 'em, it maj
as well be mine."
That afternoon, when he came in tc
supper, a thing happened which had
never before befallen him in all his man
ried life.
lie found the tea-kettle cold, the Graham
gems unbaked, the table unspread
and his wife crying piteously.
"Eh!" said Eliakim, blankly. "Wha1
in-all-creation's?the matter now? You
ain't sick, be you, Loisy?''
"Yes, I be I" sobbed Mrs. Ellis.
"Hcartsick, Liakirn. Oh, what hev 1
done? I've sold them old gray pants
o'yourn to the tin peddler, and never re.
mcmbcrcd how I'd put that there hundred
dollar coupon bond you gave me to keep,
in the pocket, because I calculated no
burglars would take a pair o'ragged old
panst. O'.i, dear I oh, dear I"
For one minute Eliakim Ellis stood I
silent. A hundred dollars was * j
hundred dollars to this hard-working j
man, who could only save and scrape bj |
littles. (
liut lie looked at Louisa's pale,woebegone
fnce, nnd his great, tender heart
rose up within him like the billows of
the sea.
"Don't fret, Loisy, my gal," he said,
cheerfully. "It was only an accident.
'Tain't wuth frettin' about." And he
bent down and kissed her forehead?a rare
occurrence in their undemonstrative |
household. "We'll go to work and make
it up us fast as possible, my dear."
"Oh, 'Liakim!" sobbed the good wife,
14I don't deserve you should bo bo good
to me. I'm a cross, scoldin' creetur,
and?"
"Tut. tut, tut!" goodhumoredly interrapped
her husband. "Guess I ain't
goin' to hev my wife abused this a-way."
"And I'm soiry I spoke so short about
them pumpkins," added Louisa, dolefully.
Mr. Ellis whistled under his breath.
He was almost disposed now, to regret
that he had paid out that dollar for the
"Widow Ilepsy's pumpkins.
''However, it's done," he said to himself,
"and it can't bo undone. Loisy'd
best be left in the dark, I guess, about
it."
He was alertly kindling the fire, while
Mrs. Ellis moved sadly about,making preparations
for the evening meal, when
there wm a lively tattoo, played by a \
very energetic pair of knuckles on the
[loor outside.
"Come in!" shouted he.
Aud who shruld make his appearance
aut the tin-peddler himself.
"Hello, squire!" said he. "Gue68
there's been a mistake somewhere. I
liu't buyin' up Government coupon
bonds. I'm in tl?e tin trade. I found
;his 'ere in your old pockets. So I al,owed
it was bes?t to bring it back right
i\vay."
He held out the folded slip of parch
nent. Eliakiin looked oddly nt it.
"Fetch on Diogenes and his lantern 1"
mid he. "I calculate here's the honest
nan at lastl"
"Get out I" said the tin-peddler. "I
lon't want none o' your four-syllabled
fun poked at me. But I tell you what I
3cw want. Them there pumpkins that
you was enrtin' in when I exchanged a
sauce-pon and two dippers for them gray
pants with your crood ladv. I'll rrivn vnn
CJ v l O" * w J v ?
ive cents apiece for 'cm."
"Done I" cried Fanner Ellis, joyfully.
"There's to be a big dinner up to
Stapleses Hill," went on the tin-peddler.
"And they're goin' to bake two hundred
pumpkins-pies, and all the pork and
beans that's to be liad. And there's
join' to be a corner in pumpkin?. I've
;ot my wngon out here, so I guess we'll
load upright away."
And thus the hundred-dollar coupon
bond was returned, all safe and sound,
by the tin-peddler, who, was ns honest
is he was shrewd, and the Widow
Ilcpsy Hall's pumpkins were satisfactorily
marketed. So much so, indeed, that
Eliakim even purchased out of the
profits a snuff-colorcd merino gown,
which ho left at tho widow's door the
very next time he drove past.
"It's a pity she can't share more o'
the good luck," said he.
Mrs. Hall found tho gown, neatly
wrapped in paper, at he door when she
jame homo from cranberrying in the
iwamp, and she never knew where it
:ame from. But sho mado it un. and
svore it to her daughter Belinda's in the
jity.
But honest Eliakim has not yet told
Louisa, his wife, that ho bought Widow
Hepsy's pumpkins, and paid a dollar for
them in good hard cash.
"It ain't best to tell women every;hingl"
said lie.?HMn F-rrat Orates.
if ' ' r' ' ' ' ' V
ORANGE HARVEST.
Gathering the Golden FVuit
in Florida.
Butting, Separating,Sorting,Wrapping and
Packing the Oranges.
When tho latter days of September up
proaen.tiie bizarre splendor ? of the rainy
afternoon, which for four months, has
irrigated the grove, grow less frequent,
uiul with the soft, dry days of our auttmui
we begin harvest; the early oblong
or Thornton's bell, the egg, and the
found Sang pur seeding begin to ripen,
and are ready for gathering.
A grove is not in bearing condition
until its trees average five hundred apples,
bo the labor of merely picking a crop of
oranges can be understood. Nor is the
gatherer permitted to pluck the fruit. It
swing its tempting yellow among the
dark green leaves and long, steely tho: iib
high among the tops and low among the
bending boughs. Tall step-ladders and
light-weights are in demand, for care
must be taken not to break the fruitful
branches already symptomatic of another
year.
The fruit must be "stem-cut." An
a *i. - ?
uuruit expert learns to clip the lruit,
holding it between the third and fourth
fingers and the shoulder of the thumb,
transferring it lightly to the pouch suspended
at his ncck. The musk of the
wmd-shaken, crushed, thorn-pierced,and
iallen fruit, the pungent, aromatic odors
of the leaves and oil-glands loud the aii
with fragrance as the exhilirating task
proceeds.
A bright, dry day must be chosen, aa
moisture on the rind tends to decay, and
there must be caution in handling,as one
bruised orange may infect an entire box
or crate.
A brisk hand stem-cutting in a full
crop can average his three hundred by
the hour, or three thousand apples per
day, but this is not frequent, on account
of the cautious handling. The picker
transfers his sack or basket carefully to
the drying-house, where the fruit is spread
out to dry. The sweating process occupies
three or more d:\ys. A good drying-house
is arranged with slatted shelves,
that the air may penetrate to the interstices
of the strips. A licjht fire is of
advantage, as it promotes the drying, by
which the rind becomes firmer, taking a
crisp, horny texture, protecting the pulp
from bruising.
The next step is selecting, removing
all bruised, thorn-pricked, or injured
fruit into separate lots. This, which
should precede arranging on dryingfloor
or shelves, to avoid contact, is followed
by separating the rusty fruit from
the bright yellow. If this is carefully
done, a selection may be made of ru.^ty
fruit in which the bronze contrasts
tily with the gold on the orange, like the
bloom on the peach. As the rust in no
way impairs lluvor or juiciness, a wellselected
box of rust fruit compares with
the "brights."
Sorting is putting oranges of the same
diameter in separate heaps. The next
step is wrapping. A thin tissue paper is
used, cut into squares of twelve or fourteen
inches, the Florida sweet seedling
aver ging ten inchcs in circumference;
oblong, egg, mandarin being smaller.
Setting the fruit on the sheet spread on
the open palm, closing the hand unites
the corners for a twist of the right hand^
and it is wrapped. The fruit is packtd
in tliin elastic boxes, 12x12x27 cutside
measurement?tho wrapped orange is
packed stem down?and, of an average
three-inch diameter, will hold four rows
of nine to the row, or 150. The usual
complement of the south Florida fruit,
however, is 128, packed apple above apple,
with paper division to each layer.
The packing box is divided in the
middle, the ends and partition boing firm
half-inch wood and the sides flexible.
By arranging the fruit differently, as is
required in sizes exceeding or less than
average diameter, space is economized
by alternating the rows to till the obverse
and re-entering curves. A size running
17G can be set alternate threes and fours,
and be so packed.
The process is delicate. The packing
must be close, fitting with even pressure
without brui-ing, to bear the jarring of
careless stevedores and 'longshoremen,
who annually exasperate the cropper. In
fitting the box, a layer of paper is put at
the bottom and one lapped above and
below, so that the fold, after the successive
layers are closely fittted, may lap
over and cover the top. The upper row
should rise not to exceed a quarter of an
inch above the box edging, that, on nailing
down the elastic top, the spring of
wood fiber in it may have a firm, constant
pressure, to resist iarrinor and disnlarro
meut.?Southern pivouac.
A Long Time to Walt*
"How old was Methusaleh when he
died?'* asked a Texas Sunday-school
teacher of Tommy Yerger, a precocious
youth.
44I don't know, how old was Methu. ?'
aid Tommy.
"He was nine hundred years old when
he died," replied the teacher.
"Nine hundred years old 1 Whew I 1
wonder how his son-in-law liked that?"
replied Tommy, as he garc an incredulous
whiatlc. ?Siftinot.
/
????? i n
Two Women and n Mouse.
*'Frances," said Aunt Penni feather, ia
u terrible whisper, "arc you asleep?"
I started from tho bed. "Ob, no*
what do you want!''
"I hate to have you get up," said shej
peering over the banister at me, as |
peered up at her, "but there's something
in the bed. I think it's a mouse.'*
Now Aunt Pennifeatlicr has an uncomfortable
degree of moral courage, as al}
\ r_; 1
nut irtcuus snow, ana in Hint streugtB
of spirit that holds its own against grie!
and pain, or the great mysteries, she it v
magnificent; but confront her with s
creeping thing, and a child could lead
her.
"Why didn't you double hiin up in th?
bod-clothes?"
"It has got in the pillow-case, Frances.
Oh, don't let him out!" jumping
upon that throne of necessity?a chair.
"Don't scream, Aunt Pcnnifeather, )
have the end sccure, but it isn't as plump
as a mouse. I believe it's a rat. I'll
take him to the window and shako Aim
out."
"Oh, Fiances, be careful 1 Oh, I se?
him! Don't let him fly out!"
But the thing wouldn't shake out; and ^
as the children were now aroused,
i scurrying round in their nightjyOWIlS
and uH."rin<r liHln cmmnlu o
^ J-J VIV
i tlieir fatlier shouted from below, "What'*
the row, Fun?"' I concluded to take tht
object to him. The Captain jumped out
i of bed and seized a ciine. 1 filled th?
1 bath-tub with water, wlitle he passed hi?
hand quickly over the protuberance; bul
it stuck fast.
"Shake, Frances t"
A dark thing fell into the water and
i was instantly submerged by a blow from
the cane. It rose defiantly. Another
blow with the stick.
"Ilold it under the water," shouted
somebody.
"Is it dead?" squealed Aunt Pennifeather,
behind the crack of the door.
"Dead?" roared the Captain; "it ha*
been dead a hundred yeara. Take yom
' old black kid glove, and don't try to 4
1 pass it oil for a wild animal down here.'V 40
? Detroit Free Press. V
Seedless Fruit.
I recently examined an orange, th?
seeds of which had all failed to develop.
I have seen oranges in which some ol
the seeds had not developed, but liav?
never seen or heard of one entirely seed(
less. Persons who examined this orange
hud never seen one like it. This seems
to have been a rare specimen.
The question of seedless fruits is?
very interesting one. The persimmon,
grape, apple, pear and other fruits often
have individual trees that bear seedless
fruit. This they continue to do yeat
after year, and grafts taken from them
will perpetrate indefinitely the seedless
vuriety. Now, as a general rule, we
know that if the flowers of any of these
plunts do not get pollen for their stigmas,
they do not fruit at all. It is to be piesumed,
therefore, that these seedleF?
varieties really get pollen, or they would
not develop fruit. If we assume this
to be a fact, then we have the curious
, conclusion that some pollen is capable
of producing fruit, but not capable of
. inducing seed.
t? ?... n- ?
.... Ui/nbi?i( ujr uu Ull'UU.1 LI.T11UU
that it always requires pollen to produce
seed vessels without seed, for that
is what seedless fruits practically are.
The Osage orange, and some kinds of
ash, and maple, will perfectly empty
seed vessels when wholly free from pollea
influence.? Gardeners' Monthly.
The Eucalyptus Tree and Malaria.
Some years ago claims were made that
the Eucalyptus globulus would banish
malaria from the land if only planted
in abundance in malarious regions. Extensive
plantations were accordinglymade,
but so far as known the result
was a total failure. Dr. Brandes, of
Ilanover, now advocates, with a similar
object in view, the growth of the
Anacharis alsinastruin, a water-plant
which is exceedingly common in soma
sections of the country. He bases hU
proposition upon the fact that in tha
district where he lives fevers of a
malarial type wero very prevalent until
this water-plant was introduced, and
that they diminished from year to year
until four years ago when they entirely
disappeared and have not since returned.
As the Anachari9 is easily obtained and
grows spontaneously, requiring no attention,
the experiment can be easily
tried in marshy districts where malaria
prevails. ?Science.
A Dangerous Boarder.
The widow Flapiuck irota new boarder
the other day. At the first meal he took
lie chokcd and had a terrible time trying
to swallow somo coffee.
"What's the matter, stranger?" she
asked kindly.
Nothing except that coffee went dowa
the wrong way."
"Qood heavens I it isn't possible that
I have secured a boarder with two
throats," exclaimed Mrs. Flapjack, who
has been complaining very bitterly oi
the amount of ftxwl ft mnn nrifU nnl?
throat can destroy.?Texts Sifcings.
Qe who is falso to the present duty
1 breaks a thread iu the loom, and will set
the effcct when the weaving of a lifetime
is unrivaled.
4 ' A. " r < !. 't) ' *" ' ''v1.
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